Saturday, January 21, 2006

OK. So i'm done spinning the Ingeo. It WAS an exercise! Every yard of it. But a good learning experience. I liked the look of it more that the feel, but i'm beginning to like the feel too... I'm just going to quote from Knitter's Review from people who've spun this before just to save to time because their descriptions are bang on target. Here goes:

"These are SLIPPERY fibers, you may have noticed. I happen to like slippery fibers. Lots of others don't.What you'll do is put a lot of twist in, and spin more slowly until you get the feel down. You'll find what often happens with slippery stuff like this is it puffs up again. So put more twist in than you think you need, and once you've got a little length on your bobbin, unwind a bit and let it ply on itself. See how it's MUCH thicker? That's why. Keep that in mind while you're spinning. "----By Rose. (She seems to know everything about every fiber on earth!)Her blog is http://RoseByAny.BlogSpot.Com

"I've found these fibers want to be spun fine at a high ratio. Ingeo get a cottony feel and can be very unforgiving. I found the tencel to be the easiest to spin and I hated silk latte which was somehow both too sticky and too slippery all at the same time. I use a supported long draw with a bit more tension in the back hand then what I would use for wool. Blending wih wool will definately make it easier to spin for you."---- By Jayme

"Vi,hope this helps....when i first spun ingeo, i hated it.However, I found out that if you strip it into 8-10 thinner rovings, it gets a lot easier - doesn't stick as much. Spin at a high ratio (and not too fine) because if you plan on plying it with itself, it'll drift apart while plying & be a nightmare if spun on a low ratio.I have a big gorgeous skein of Ingeo I spun recently (will post images of it on my blog soon). It looks fabulous & feels pretty silk (tho' not in the same way as silk). It took a long time to make but if i was to do it again, i would be wiser to learn from the mistakes i made & save time."----By Me. (Some of this contradicts what the experts say, but this was my own experience).

If you're interested in the thread the link is: http://www.knittersreview.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=49872

Sunday, January 08, 2006

My good friend in DC who is exceptionally talented in designing jewelry gave me an exquisite asymmetrical necklace for Christmas. I had seen it at her place & had been coveting it since October.I'm in the process of weaving a long awaited alpaca/mohair boucle shawl for her. The warp is a beautiful bluish maroon & the weft is a lovely amethyst mohair boucle. 150 threads thru the heddles...150 more to go...

Thursday, January 05, 2006

I had a bag full of very raw tussah silk (full of dirt, dust, dead pupae bits etc.) that I decided I was going to process by my sweet self. Cleaning raw wild silks is a headache. Apparently it is very labor intensive. *sighBy the time you've beat it on the ground (to scatter the hard dirt bits), degummed & rinsed it, dried it, cleaned it over again for the dirt that didn't come out the first time, carded it & spun it, you wish you could charge someone for the time!Follow the arrows to see how I went about the process.When all's said & done - raw silk is just plain beautiful. One can totally see why arty women in India prefer to wear raw silk saris & dresses. They just have so much texture, character & grace. The color itself reminds me of India. *sighI have a long tussah scarf my mother had gifted me. I love it so much more now. I plan to weave one soon.